Saúl Torres says he’s blessed to be alive. He’s one of the thousands of people in California who tested positive for COVID-19 in July, and he’s also among the unvaccinated. Torres and his family didn’t believe in COVID-19 and were also misinformed about the vaccines.”We would say, ‘That isn’t going to happen to us,’ or ‘It isn’t real, we won’t get sick,’ and then it happened to all of us,” he said.A trend that health experts have noticed among different racial and ethnic groups.In California, Latinos make up 39.4% of the vaccine-eligible population, and so far 28.7% have received their shots. This is the biggest vaccination gap, followed by whites.”Among the Latino population, there’s just a lot of myths among each other and they don’t know the truth about the vaccines and they don’t see a doctor to get educated on it,” said UC Davis’ internal medicine resident, Yesenia Ramos.Torres lost more than 40 pounds in less than one month. And as if that wasn’t enough, he was recently diagnosed with the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).”This syndrome is usually caused after a bacterial or viral infection, so right now there is concern that his COVID could possibly be linked to this Guillain Barré syndrome,” Ramos said.The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that while most people eventually recover from even the most severe cases of GBS, some people will continue having some degree of weakness. Most recently, an increase in GBS cases was noticed worldwide, following the Zika virus.”We were actually talking to him about physical therapy. He’s going to need it long-term,” Ramos said about Torres’ case.He’s also receiving IGIV to boost his immune system.Torres now believes that the disorder could have been avoided if he had received a COVID-19 vaccine and now pleads with other nonbelievers to get vaccinated.Without an exact time frame of when he might return to work, Torres now worries about providing for his children and is now depending on his eldest daughter for financial assistance at home.
Saúl Torres says he’s blessed to be alive. He’s one of the thousands of people in California who tested positive for COVID-19 in July, and he’s also among the unvaccinated. Torres and his family didn’t believe in COVID-19 and were also misinformed about the vaccines.
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“We would say, ‘That isn’t going to happen to us,’ or ‘It [COVID] isn’t real, we won’t get sick,’ and then it happened to all of us,” he said.
A trend that health experts have noticed among different racial and ethnic groups.
In California, Latinos make up 39.4% of the vaccine-eligible population, and so far 28.7% have received their shots. This is the biggest vaccination gap, followed by whites.
“Among the Latino population, there’s just a lot of myths among each other and they don’t know the truth about the vaccines and they don’t see a doctor to get educated on it,” said UC Davis’ internal medicine resident, Yesenia Ramos.
Torres lost more than 40 pounds in less than one month. And as if that wasn’t enough, he was recently diagnosed with the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
“This syndrome is usually caused after a bacterial or viral infection, so right now there is concern that his COVID could possibly be linked to this Guillain Barré syndrome,” Ramos said.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that while most people eventually recover from even the most severe cases of GBS, some people will continue having some degree of weakness. Most recently, an increase in GBS cases was noticed worldwide, following the Zika virus.
“We were actually talking to him about physical therapy. He’s going to need it long-term,” Ramos said about Torres’ case.
He’s also receiving IGIV to boost his immune system.
Torres now believes that the disorder could have been avoided if he had received a COVID-19 vaccine and now pleads with other nonbelievers to get vaccinated.
Without an exact time frame of when he might return to work, Torres now worries about providing for his children and is now depending on his eldest daughter for financial assistance at home.
